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Tuesday, April 04, 2017

AP: "Employees Getting Implanted With Microchip"

Associated Press reported yesterday, "The syringe slides in between the thumb and the index finger. Then with a click, a microchip is injected into the employees hand."

AP says, "The injection has become so popular that workers...hold parties for those willing to get injected."

The benefit? Employees say "convenience" and "this is the future."

There is, of course, benefits to the employer as well.

And what about "the future?"

Associated Press says, "What could pass for a dystopian vision of the workplace is almost routine at the Swedish start-up hub Epicenter."

"The company offers to implant workers and start-up members with microchips the size of grains of rice," AP reports, "that function as swipe cards: to open doors, operate printers, or buy smoothies with the wave of the hand."

The news service also reports that "the injections are so popular that workers at Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted."

Epicenter is home to more than 100 companies and about 2000 workers and is based in Stockholm. So far about 150 employees have been "chipped." A company based in Belgium also offers its employees implants. And there are a few companies around the world beginning to offer these chips as well.

The small implants use "Near Field Communications" (NFC) technology, the same used in most credit cards and mobile phone payment procedures.

When activated by a reader a few inches away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are "passive" meaning they contain information that other devises can read, but cannot read information themselves.

The technology being used is not new, it is the same thing we are already using on pets. Companies also use these chips to track deliveries.

However, this is taking it to a new level.

AP notes that although this looks like a dystopian vision in the workplace, it is quickly becoming common place. Normal.

And there are plenty of reasons for doing it, say those who are getting "chipped."

Patrick Mesterton, co-founder and CEO of Epicenter, says the biggest benefit is convenience, and while speaking, he waves his hand and opens a nearby door. He says, "It basically replaces a lot of things you have, other communication devises, whether credit cards or keys."

What he does not mention, apparently, is the fact that the company can now track chipped employees, and unlike other tracking devices on phones, etc., the chip cannot be left home, or wherever. It's in your body. You cannot easily separate yourself from it.

Mesterton admits putting things like this into your body is quite a big step, saying even he had doubts at first.

"But on the other hand, I mean, people have been implanting things into their body, like pacemakers and stuff to control their heart," he says. "That's a way, way more serious thing than having a small chip that can actually communicate with devices."